The Middle East Institute is pleased to host Egyptian journalist Ashraf Khalil for a discussion of his new book, Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation, and the political landscape in Egypt on the first anniversary of the revolution. This book is the first account of the Tahrir Square uprisings from someone who was on the ground and witnessed the protests firsthand. On February 10, 2011, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak gave his final address to the nation, conclusively demonstrating to the defiant masses in Tahrir Square that he was not listening to the demands of the people, who called for his resignation and the right to choose their own government. In the year since, Egypt has undergone a significant democratic opening and the first free and fair elections in decades, but the revolution is still incomplete. Power remains in the hands of the military, and hundreds of demonstrators have been killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces and the police. Ashraf Khalil will analyze the status quo in Egypt today and reasons for both optimism and pessimism as the country enters its second year of the post-Mubarak era. He will be on hand to sign copies of his new book immediately following the event.
Bio:
Ashraf Khalil has covered the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy, the Times of London and The Economist. He worked as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times in Baghdad and Jerusalem and has been based in Cairo for most of the last fifteen years. He is an Egyptian-American, born and raised in the US, and a graduate of Indiana University. He is the author of Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation, was published by St. Martin's Press on January 3, 2012.